Concrete revetment



Aug. 12, 1930., WEBER 1,772,821

CONCRETE REVETMENT Filed March 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l gn uentoz zmmxmmmxm' Aug. 12, 1930. c. WEBER CONCRETE REVETMENT Filed Maire-h 11,1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 12, 1930 PATENT OFFICE CARL WEBER,OI JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

CONCRETE REVETMEN'I.

Application filed March 11, 1929. Serial No. 346,080.

My invention relates to the construction of concrete revetmentsorpavements, sometimes also called linings, for the protection of theslopes of dams, levees, dykes and canal banks r. against erosion, oreven of the bottoms ofrivers and canals. It can also be used for theprotection of the fore-shore at the foot of sea-walls and bulkheads, toprevent scouring of the ground in front of the same and the consequentundermining of the structure.

The revetment or pavement, hereinafter described and claimed, is alsoadvantageously adapted for use as the decks of piers and docks, forroadways and Warehouse floors on 15. filled ground, and for othersimilar purposes.

The object of my invention is to provide an economical and efiicientrevetment for the purposes mentioned and of such a construction as willfurnish a homogeneous covering 2 for the earth or other surface so thaterosion and washouts will be prevented, while the revetment willhave'sufiicient elasticity to accommodate itself to settlements or othermovements of the surface, such as are liable to occur in filled ground.

I accomplish this object by fabricating reinforced concrete slabs orrevetment sections with open grooves or joint spaces at their sides andends and withdouble steel reinforc ing rods running through the slabs inone direction with their looped ends projecting into said grooves; thento unite the slabs to form a complete mat, steel tie-rods are passedthrough-the overlapping looped ends of the reinforcing rods of adjacentslabs, and the grooves containing said tie-rods, as well as the grooveson the other two sides of the slabs, are filled with cement or otherplastic composition, which prevents rusting of the rod joints whileimparting a certain degree of elasticity to the revetment, floor or matas a whole. 1

The construction and assemblage of the revetment, in accordance with myinvention, will now be described in detail with reference to theaccompanyingdrawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one of the slabs;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same,

so taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section, taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on a larger scale through the ends of twoadjacent slabs forming part of the completed revetment;

Fig. 5 is a section on a smaller scale of a revetment in situ on asloping bank;

Fig. 6 is a similar View of a portion of such a revetment provided withan anti-slipping surface, and 6.3

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of a completed revetment.

Each concrete slab 1 has all four of its edges recessed, cut away orbeveled from the top surface so as to form, with the edge of anadjoining slab, (indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2), an undercutgroove 2 having a V- shaped bottom 3, while the lower portion of theedges are left vertical to abut those of the next slab, as shown at 4.In other words, the upper portions of the sides of the groove areinclined inwardly or undercut, while the next lower portions areinclined outwardly and downwardly to form the V-shaped bottom 3, theapex 5 of the V coming at the upper corners of the remaining verticalportions of the slab edges.

Embedded in each slab and running longitudinally thereof, in the exampleillustrated, are double steel rods 7, the parallel strands of which liein the same vertical plane while their looped ends 8 project through theinwardly inclined walls of the groove and extend somewhat beyond theplane of the vertical edge portion 4.

These slabs are fabricated at any convenient point from which they canbe transported to the place of use.

When the slabs are laid in their assembled position, the said loopedends 8 overlap and steel rods 9 are then threaded through said ends tohingedly connect the slabs together. These rods .9 prevent theseparation of the slabs in the longitudinal direction and also 95 unitethem in the transverse direction because said rods extend throughout thewidth of the revetment or mat.

After the slabs and the transverse reinforcing rods .9 have been put inplace, the grooves 100 2 are filled with concrete or cement mortar 1Oreferably firmly tamped down.

he form of the grooves and of their cement filling being dovetail, theslabs are kept in alineinent and the filling will not be forced out ofplace if uneven settlements occur, or if the groove should becomeslightly enlarged by shrinkage or movements caused by temperaturestresses.

The presence of the numerous joints in the revetment and of theinterlocking steel reinforcements in each joint provides sufficientelasticity so that, for all ordinary conditions, special shrinkagejoints, commonly known as expansion joints, can be dispensed with. Whereconsiderable elasticity is required, the joint groove filling 10 may bebituminous concrete or other yielding material.

In this way, the completed revetment forms a practically monolithic,waterproof ground covering.

When the revetment is used for the protection of the slopes of levees,dykes, canal banks and the like, its lower end may abut a shoreline wallor bulkhead 11, as shown in Fig. 5. Such steep slopes, especially on thebanks of waterways, are dangerous to the workmen and the public onaccount of their slipperiness. Therefore. to prevent accidents by makingthe sloping surfaces safe to Walk upon, the tops of the slabs may becorrugated, ribbed or grooved to form step-like footholds, i. e., ananti-slipping surface, as shown at 12 in Fig. 6. Such a roughenedsurface also serves to break up waves, caused by wind or passingvessels, and thus prevents excessive splashing and scouring action.

For the placing of the revetmentson canal or river bottoms or otherunder-water locations, the slabs must often be assembled in the form ofmats on floats or barges. In such cases the reinforcement rods arereversed in position to allow a hinge-like action in the placing of themats. That is, the looped rods 7 run transversely and the hinge rods 9longitudinally of the slabs.

In these revetment mats for permanent under-water use, the joint groovesmay be left open. The steel bars in the same are practically rust-proofwhen permanently immersed and, as the joint grooves quickly fill withsilt and mud, no special cement/filling is usually necessary. If,however, cementing of the joints in certain under-water locations shouldbe needed, it can be applied by any of the known sub-aqueous grouting orcementing methods.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

' 1. A revetment or mat for the purposes described, comprising aplurality of concrete.

slabs, each having its edges shaped so as to form, with the adjacentedges of the adjoinmg slabs, grooves of dovetail shape with runningV-shaped bottoms adapted to receive a plastic filler, reinforcing rodsrunningin one direction in each slab and projecting into said grooves,and tie rods running in said grooves and engaging said first rods.

2. A revetment or mat for the purposes described, comprising a pluralityof concrete slabs, each having its edges recessed so as to form, withthe edges of the adjacent slabs, 'oint grooves of dovetail shape withV-shaped ottoms,'double reinforcing rods embedded in each slab withtheir looped ends projecting into said grooves, tie rods placed in saidgrooves so as to pass through said loops, and a plastic compositionfilling said grooves.

3. A revetment or mat for the purposes described, comprising a pluralityof concrete slabs having their edges inclined inwardly from the top fora portion of the depth of the slab, thence inclined outwardl for aportion of the remaining depth, an thence vertically to the bottom,whereby joint grooves of dovetail shape with V-shaped bottoms areformed, when the slabs are assembled, to receive a filling of cement orthe like, looped reinforcing rods embedded in each slab and projectinginto said grooves, and tie rods in said grooves running at right anglesto and engaging said reinforcing rods.

4. A revetment or mat for the purposes described, comprising a pluralityof premolded rectangular concrete slabs having their four sides cut backfrom the top of the slab so as to form, in conjunction with the sides ofadjacent slabs, dovetail grooves with V-shaped bottoms, doublereinforcing rods embedded longitudinally in each sla-b so that theirlooped ends project into certain of said grooves and overlap the loopedends of the tie rods in an adjacent slab, transverse rods laid in saidgrooves and passing through said overlapping looped ends, and a cementfilling tamped into said grooves.

5. A revetment mat, consisting of a plurality of concrete slabs thesides of which are of such shape as to form dovetail grooves between theslabs, double looped reinforcing rods running longitudinally througheach slab with their looped ends projecting from the ends of the slabsso as to overlap the ends of the rods in the adjoining slabs, and tierods running through said overlapped ends, all the grooves being filledwith a cementitious material.

In testimony-whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CARL 'WEBER.

